It is well known to support a headrest with respect to a seat in an automobile by using a frame, and such headrest frames typically provide for adjustment of the headrest with respect to the seat of the automobile. During an automotive collision, the headrest functions to stabilize the head of a vehicle occupant who is seated in the seat. Of course, if the headrest frame were to break during the automotive collision, the headrest would no longer be operative to stabilize the head of the vehicle occupant, and the protections intended to be provided to the vehicle occupant by the headrest would be lost. For this reason, headrest frames are constructed from materials that provide sufficient strength and rigidity to withstand the extreme forces exerted upon the headrest frame during an automotive collision. Thus, conventional headrest frames are made of iron and are typically either round or tubular in cross-section.
One difficulty in fabricating headrest frames from iron is that iron headrest frames must be plated, usually with zinc and chromium. The plating process makes fabrication of iron headrest frames complicated and leads to increased production costs. Furthermore, after the automobile is scrapped, the plating material on the headrest frame must be removed before the iron in the headrest frame can be recycled. This complicates the automobile disposal process and thus raises the cost of disposing of and recycling the automobile. Additionally, as the plating material may comprise elements that are potentially harmful to the environment, removal and disposal of the plating material is not favorable for the environment.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to have a headrest frame that eliminates the need for plating.